Noticeboard

Need Urgent Dental Care?

If you need help with an urgent dental problem, call our helpline, available from 9am to 9:30pm everyday, including weekends and Bank Holidays.

0161 476 9651 (Local Rate)

Local dental providers offer NHS urgent dental clinics across Cheshire and Merseyside, with urgent appointments for patients who need urgent treatment, advice and support on dental queries or referral to other services.

The service is provided according to strict clinical criteri

a and when you call you'll be assessed by a member of our clinical team to make sure your problem come under either:

Trauma - this is usually caused by a blow to the face, a lost filling is not classed as a trauma.

Swelling of the face

Bleeding, uncontrolled, such as after an extraction

Pain that can't be controlled by pain relief medicines.

If you're given an appointment and your problem doesn't fit of the above, you'll still have to pay the NHS fee but may receive advice and not treatment.

Clinic times vary.and at busy times or when your local clinic's not available you may be offered an appointment at an alternative location.

Please not: this is an appointment only service - we do not operate a "drop in" service at any of our surgeries

Carers

Who is a Carer?

A carer is anyone, irrespective of age, whose life is someway affected because of the need to take responsibility for the care of a person who has a mental problem, a learning difficulty, is elderly and frail or whose health is impaired, including the parents of a child with a disability (parent carers).

They do not get paid.

Many people who support others do not even realise they are carers.

Carers can be any age

Carers can be either sex

Carers can be from all backgrounds, cultures and communities

Carers can be family members, neighbours or friends

Some carers may care for more than one person

Please click here to see the St Helens Carers' Centre Newsletter for January 2016.

Supporting Carers

It is the policy of the Practice to identify and support carers. We try to identify carers by the following means:

Newly registering patients are asked if they are a carer or if they have a carer.

The practice website contains information about identifying carers and has a link to the St Helens Carers' Centre who provide free of charge services to local carers. Once you have registered with them you can access the wealth of services they have on offer on offer

Our Reception staff are asked to be aware of patients who regularly collect prescriptions or messages for other patients of the practice. These patients are asked if they are carers

Carers may be identified opportunistically during the course of consultations

There is a Carers’ notice board in the reception waiting area provided and maintained by the St Helens Carers’ Centre who ensure the information contained on the notice board is both up to date and relevant to the needs of carers.

Once a carer is identified:

The Carer or patient who has a carer is identified on our Clinical system database and a note is added to the computer record of the carer and the cared for person (if that person is registered with the practice).

If the Carer requires referral to Social Services the GP/Nurse will arrange this by telephoning Social Services on 01744 456600 (for St Helens patients) or 01942 244991 (for Wigan patients) and giving a verbal referral. This will be passed on to the appropriate team.

Unless we are told otherwise we will refer the carer the St Helens Carers' Centre a registered charity that is governed by carers for carers. A Carers' Centre representative will then contact the carer to explain their free and confidential service and invite the carer to register with them.

Caring and your pension

If you cannot work or do not earn enough to pay National Insurance contributions because you are caring for someone, you may still be credited with National Insurance contributions. If you are a pensioner, you may be able to get Pension Credit. Click here to find out more.

Further Information from NHS Choices

There is a wealth of information on NHS Choices about carers and caring. Below are some links into the site that we hope you will find useful.